I know that art is subjective - what one person sees as brilliant, another might dismiss entirely. That’s fine. What isn’t subjective, however, are the rules of a competition. And when those rules shift mid-contest, it raises serious questions about fairness.
The extension of the Civitai Odyssey deadline by three full days felt like a major misstep. Extending a deadline late into a contest is not just frustrating - it’s unfair. In most professional settings, extending critical deadlines on a whim is simply not possible. Try filing your taxes late and see how well that goes. If there were genuine technical issues, like server problems preventing uploads, I could understand. But three days? That’s a significant amount of extra time, and it alters the playing field completely.
Now, looking at the Top 25, it’s hard to ignore how many of them submitted during that extension period. Maybe it’s coincidence. Maybe not. Either way, it leaves a weird aftertaste, like the goalposts were moved while the game was still being played.
I know this take won’t be popular. People will call me salty, and they’re not wrong - I am salty. But I’m also drained. This isn’t just about one contest. In my view Civitai has been struggling with its legitimacy for a while now - a thin veneer of art layered over a massive iceberg of AI-generated porn. Meanwhile, the vast majority of creators still aren’t getting paid like they would on other platforms, the site remains buggy, and now we have contests with shifting deadlines. It’s a pattern, and it’s discouraging.
I’m aware that my opinion won’t change anything. I’m just some random bloke on the internet venting. But for me, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’m not sure if I’ll participate in the next Odyssey or even keep posting LoRAs on Civitai. I’ll still keep creating - because that’s what I love to do - but at least now I know better.
Edit 03/02/2025:
I checked the time stamps on all Top50 videos:
In the Top 25, 98 out of 200 entries were submitted within the original deadline.
If you look at the Top 50, 187 out of 400 entries were submitted within the original deadline.
So, just over 50% of finalists ended up submitting after the original deadline had expired. Make of that what you will.